UPDATE-2/14/11
Wow, I started this “project” in December of 2009. This post was uploaded almost exactly 11 months ago. I made tremendous headway until about March 2010, when I got “knocked-up” and couldn’t stand anything to do with Indian food thanks to the wonderful natural blessing called morning sickness. I actually couldn’t eat much more than raw cucumbers, tomatoes, iceburg lettuce, and cheddar cheese. What I like to call a “white trash” salad. So now I’m back. The 2 year old I mentioned below is now 3 and I also have a 2 month old. One of the main reasons I started this project was to force myself to learn how to cook Indian food since I sincerely feel that it is extremely healthy (and tasty if you’re not nauseous). So here I go again…relearning how to FTP, updating to the latest version of WordPress, and hoping I can finally figure out how to cook. Wish me luck!
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Thanks for visiting. I know, my blog is not only devoid of recipe videos at this point, it also doesn’t have all those cool stills of palak paneer. But, rest assured, I’m working on it! In the meantime, here is a little bit about myself.
I don’t consider myself a foodie. I can’t rattle off the menu from the latest culinary haunt in town (mainly because I have a 2 year-old). But after living in some major food cities, I can’t help but appreciate good food, be it Michelin rated or bought on the side of the road.
I do consider myself very knowledgeable on the trials and tribulations of learning how to cook Indian food (since I am still learning). I am determined to crack the code and then share what I learn with you.
I am your typical product of immigrant parents:
-science degree (check)
-advanced degree (check)
-wishing I had some cool profession like Asif Mandvi (check)
-instead, worked for multinationals like GE (check)
-am blogging because I did a stint as a stay at home mom and am now dying to let the world know something, anything of consequence
In my blog, I am going to focus on video recipes because I think it might make the technique of cooking Indian food a bit easier. It will also give me the chance to fantasize about being Rachel Ray.
At any rate, I’m having a lot of fun along the way and I hope you will as well. I look forward to this little journey with you!
-Pallavi
You Go Girl!!!!
Thanks for your support, you’re a huge inspiration!
Pallavi. You are much hotter than Rachel Ray and I'm part Italian.
Pallavi, my wife and I have recently switched to a "whole foods, plant based diet", so I imagine we are going to use many recipes from this site. I am about to start Kali Dal for tomorrow, do you use dried lentils, or canned?
Thanks for visiting! Hope my reply isn\’t too late. I would use dried-especially if you use a slow-cooker. Cans have a chemical called BPA which is not good for you. There are a lot of fast cooking lentils, but this one requires some time. Try my red lentil recipe for a faster dal. Let me know how it turns out!
Hi Pallavi – I recently discovered your show on one of my Roku channels and I love it! Indian food intrigues me, but I have a low tolerance for spicy food (I'm working on it!) and every time I try it, I end up ordering something that is too spicy for me. Do you have any suggestions for a dish I could order/make next time? Thanks!
Katie
So glad you posted! This is a huge issue that I have with Indian restaurant food. They over-spice everything to the point you can barely recognize what you're eating. While spices are used in a hot climate like India to help preserve food, we can now use the spices to enhance, not over-power the flavor of whatever it is you're trying to make. Try some of my recipes and let me know what you think. You can leave out the chilies and chili powder. My recipes call for a small amount of spices and I also recommend not over-cooking food to help maintain nutrients! Write back!
Love your site, your recipes are so yummy. Thank you for making Indian food so accesible and easy!